


by the river

by junhao



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: (sort of - idk it's really /really/ vague tbh), Angst, Arguing, Canon Compliant, Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, Fainting, Hospitals, Idol-Verse, M/M, Making Up, POV Third Person Omniscient, Self-Esteem Issues, side wonhao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-10
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2019-03-02 03:40:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13309653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/junhao/pseuds/junhao
Summary: mingyu should’ve caved in when he had the chance. though it only seems like wonwoo’s the one who’s paying for their lovers quarrel.





	by the river

**Author's Note:**

> the prompt was: _"hi! can i request something about jun x mingyu competing over the visual title of seventeen? and there’s wonwoo as the peacemaker. can you make it angst-fluffy themed? thanks in advance!”_
> 
> um, so, i actually had 0 idea how to make the request angsty without giving either jun or gyu self-esteem issues and then idk the fainting and lack of eating just...happened? i’m sorry, this probably really shitty and not a great way to start the year, but i hope you guys find this tolerable at least?
> 
> cross-posted on tumblr [here](http://jnhao.tumblr.com/post/169557398269/by-the-river)

Wonwoo gazes in between his two members, brows raised in question. Junhui pouts, his head turned away, his chin pointed up towards the ceiling, unwilling to look in their direction. Mingyu mirrors him, pout less cute and Wonwoo sighs again.

"So you're telling me that you're fighting over who's the visual again?" Wonwoo asks.

"Yes," both men say simultaneously before glaring at one another and looking away again, with too much resentment in their gazes.

Wonwoo rolls his eyes and crosses his arms over his chest. "You guys really are unbelievable."

"It isn't hard to believe that _I'm_ the visual of the group. We all know I'm the most handsome," Junhui mutters.

Mingyu's head turns sharply to glare at the eldest. "No. _I'm_ the most handsome in the group. All of our fans know it."

"You wish," Junhui rolls his eyes and sniffs, indignant.

"Listen, we all know that Minghao is the most handsome in the group," Wonwoo begins, only to get cut off by Mingyu's indignant "You're only saying that because he's your boyfriend!" and Wonwoo sighs, not finding it in him to play peacemaker anymore.

"You two can fix this yourselves. I still have no idea why you always fight over this anyway," Wonwoo mutters as he lurches out of his seat and heads towards the freed makeup chair beside Minghao.

 

 

* * *

 

 

They go at it like cats and dogs, it's almost unbearable to watch.

Wonwoo rolls his eyes as Junhui and Mingyu glare at each other from across the room, something like hate lurking in the depths of their eyes.

They're being petty. Pettier than Jeonghan and Jisoo can be and it's been a week now. A week too long if you ask Wonwoo, but no one is asking him if he's tired of watching these two _children_ fight over the visual title like kindergarteners unwillingly to share their new shiny toy.

It's gotten to the point that Wonwoo has to always step in between them whenever they gather as a group just to make sure they don't tear each other's heads off. He seriously has zero ideas how two people who care about each other so much can fight over who's prettier. And he wouldn't care about their petty fight if it wasn't bothering the rest of the group and if Seungcheol hadn't pinned him with a helpless gaze when Jeonghan and Junhui got into it too, arguing over who looked better with long hair.

Things are so out of hand and Wonwoo has no idea why _he's_ been the one that's been appointed as the middleman between his two members.

"Hao, please help me," Wonwoo whispers into his boyfriend's hair a few afternoons later when they're cuddling on Minghao's bed as downtime.

Minghao shakes his head and sighs. "You're on your own with this one, hyung. Junnie only listens to me when I need help and Mingyu and I fight more often than we get along. I can't help you. Sorry."

Wonwoo sighs and resigns himself to an early death brought on by the fist fight he's almost sure is bound to happen soon if Junhui and Mingyu don't makeup soon.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The fight comes to an end when Junhui collapses in the practice room from malnourishment. Mingyu and Jihoon hover over him protectively, trying to keep him awake as Seungcheol runs about yelling at everyone to do something.

It's scary, to say the least. Junhui is pale and sweaty and looks sick beyond belief and Wonwoo is shocked he didn't notice it earlier.

Maybe this is why Jeonghan has been watching Junhui like a hawk every time they sat down for a meal.

Either way, Wonwoo grabs Mingyu by his shoulders and lifts him up as Junhui is carried away on a stretcher a little while later. He's still pale and sweaty, but he's awake now and that's all the reassurance Wonwoo needs to know that Junhui will be okay.

Mingyu, however, is a whole nother matter.

"It's my fault. Oh my god, I should've just told him he's the prettiest man on this Earth. Now look at what I've done," Mingyu whines into Wonwoo's shoulder as they sit beside Juhui's bed at the hospital.

Junhui is fine, the doctors gave their okay a few minutes earlier and Junhui will be going back to the dorm tomorrow, only after he's rested a while and eaten something. He's asleep right now so Mingyu's voice isn't more than a whisper but his tears are big and wet and they stain the collar of Wonwoo's white t-shirt. Wonwoo pats his head and sighs, leaning back a little into his stiff, hospital chair.

"Gyu-yah, you didn't do anything. Junnie did this all on his own. You can't blame yourself for what _he_ did," Wonwoo explains quietly, feeling much too out of his depth to deal with this.

Mingyu sniffs, his voice watery when he replies, "It's still my fault, hyung. We both know Junnie has self-esteem issues. I don't know why I didn't just tell him how beautiful he is. Now look at what happened, he stopped eating because he thought he wasn't handsome enough."

Wonwoo shifts in his seat, uncomfortable again. "Gyu. Seriously, this isn't your fault. I know about Jun's issues, but that doesn't mean you get to blame this on yourself. For now, we just have to make sure that Jun eats regularly and if he still wants to lose weight, then we'll help him to do it in a healthy way."

Junhui breathes out heavily in sleep, his pale face regaining some of its normal color. He looks peaceful while asleep and Wonwoo feels the quiet swell of peace settle in his chest as Mingyu's tears come to an end. Wonwoo watches as Mingyu reaches out to take Junhui's hand and grips it tight in his hold, unwilling to let go anytime soon. Wonwoo settles into his seat and pats Junhui's thigh.

It's going to be a long night.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Junhui's hair is soft as it tickles Mingyu's chin.

His breath is shallow and deep. His eyelids are a honey brown, reassuring Mingyu of Junhui's good health.

It's been a couple months since the incident. They never talk about it explicitly in detail, at least, not anymore. But the first few days after Junhui came home from the hospital were awkward, to say the least. Mingyu didn't know how to talk to Junhui back then.

It wasn't until he had a nightmare of Junhui growing thinner and thinner until he was only skin and bones. His face was gaunt, devoid of the sparkle in his eyes that Mingyu had first fallen for. It wasn't his Junhui and he awoke with a strangled scream caught in his throat.

But the fear only lasted for a few seconds before Junhui was tugging him out of bed and forcing shoes onto his feet, leading Mingyu outside as they walked the nearly empty streets of Seoul. It was dark and chilly, but not cold enough to warrant either of them to wear jackets. Junhui held his hand as they walked, his eyes reflecting the night sky above them.

Out in the city, there never were any stars to admire, but as Junhui led them along the bank of the Han River, Mingyu marveled at the very few stars he _could_ see. They had sat down, uncaring of whether they got dirty or not.

They didn't say anything that night, or the next night or the night after that. They never discussed their issues at the river. It's a silent agreement between them to not taint their special place with any negative memories or thoughts. So instead, they talked the next day when the sun shone bright and left nothing in the shadows. They talked and talked and talked until Mingyu felt he'd soon lose his voice, but even then, they continued. They wept and Mingyu rocked Junhui in his arms, uncaring of how pathetic they must've looked like to their members. Wonwoo was gracious enough to keep the others away from them as they worked their issues and during the night, Wonwoo also kept anybody from following the two as they took their nightly walk.

They talked and discussed and argued and they wept then talked some more and by the end, Mingyu finally felt the familiar warm curling in his stomach that he always felt whenever Junhui showed him affection.

Now, they lay on the bank again. A blanket lies beneath Mingyu as Junhui lies on him and Mingyu feels that there are more stars in the sky tonight than there was yesterday.

Junhui is doing better. He no longer starves himself and Mingyu always makes sure that Junhui eats enough to support him through the day with their exerting schedules without any troubles. Junhui is doing better.

And Mingyu is doing better too.

"Hey, Junnie," Mingyu whispers as he watches the sky.

Junhui hums, not as asleep as Mingyu thought he was. "Hmm?"

"You're the true visual."

Mingyu watches as a lazy smile curls across Junhui's lips, a flush working its way across his cheeks as he curls into Mingyu's chest more securely. "I know."

Junhui giggles and the sound is so cute that Mingyu is one hundred percent sure that Junhui can hear the fluttering of his heart underneath him.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for 800 followers on [tumblr](http://jnhao.tumblr.com) btw! you guys are amazing!!! <3


End file.
